Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In November 2024 the Macquarie Dictionary, the standard reference on Australian English, awarded an honorary mention to a new term, 'right to disconnect', with the definition:

a law which grants employees the right to not work or be contacted about work during non-work hours.

It's one year since Labor implemented the right to disconnect for employees of large- and medium-sized businesses, and that right came into effect on 26 August for employees of small businesses. Last month and today, we celebrate the anniversary of the right to disconnect. It is an important milestone for working people, an important milestone for those whose labour should be recognised, an important milestone for our economy and an important milestone for Australia. It's a simple premise: if you're not being paid to work 24/7, then you shouldn't be on call 24/7.

We have always acknowledged the importance of a person's right to be paid fairly and their right to be acknowledged for the work that they do. If you are a carpenter going to a worksite and you are told, 'You shouldn't clock in because we're not going to pay you for today'; if you are a fitter and turner going to the shop floor and you are told, 'Today we're not going to send you your cheque; we're just going to off this one today, and you're not going to get your wage'; or if you are a nurse checking in at the hospital to do your shift, we would not cop you having to work without pay. But that is what has been happening to many workers across our economy in this country. Your time off should be your own. You shouldn't have to read a monitor. You shouldn't have to respond to contact unless it would be unreasonable not to.

The coalition wanted to overturn it. What is clear about the coalition's position when it comes to working people is that they do not believe that working people's dignity at work or working people's right to be paid for their labour is something that's particularly important. There is no other reason that they would vote against these important reforms.

On 3 May Australians spoke, and they spoke loud and clear. They supported that right to disconnect, they supported that right to unplug, and they supported that right for their wages to reflect the work that they do. Labor governments have been standing up for working Australians since Labor's inception. Working Australians drive our economy. Working Australians are the beating heart, making sure that services critical to our economy continue to grow and move forward. We've just passed new laws to protect penalty rates. If you're on minimum or award wages, your penalty rates are here to stay and your penalty rates are protected.

Labor has consistently supported minimum wage increases at every annual wage review since May 2022. The minimum wage increased 3.5 per cent from 1 July. That's direct cost-of-living support for three million workers including cleaners, retail workers and early childhood educators. Annual real wages have grown for 18 months in a row under Labor. Under the former government, wages fell for five quarters leading up to the 2022 election.

It doesn't end there. With same job, same pay, we have delivered pay increases for workers across the country, ensuring labour hire workers are not paid less than permanent employees when they are doing the same job. If you are working next to a coworker doing exactly the same thing, you should not be paid differently. It's about fairness in work, it's about supporting working Australians and it's about making sure that everyone has dignity in the workplace.

Labor will always stand up for the importance of helping Australians improve their work-life balance. We believe that not only should you be fairly compensated for your work but family is a really important part of our community. More than one million jobs were created during the government's first term. That's a record for a parliamentary term. Thanks to Labor, workers in these jobs will be paid fairly, keep their penalty rates, and, when they clock off for the night, their time is their own.

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